Keynote

Jean Blaise

Le Voyage a NantesFrance

After founding Nantes’ Maison de la Culture, in 1982, Jean Blaise became director of the CRDC (Centre de Recherche pour le Développement Culturel), a national stage, also located in the city of Nantes. He took an active part in the city’s cultural growth, notably with the creation of the Les Allumées festival, as well as Le Lieu Unique, before developing major events in France and in other countries (the Paris Nuit Blanche in 2002 and 2005, the Hué Festival in Vietnam, in 2000 and 2002).

In 2007, he created the Estuaire contemporary art biennial. On January 1, 2011, he founded Le Voyage à Nantes, a public corporation responsible for promoting the city as a destination, through the management of the city’s iconic sites, like the castle of the dukes of Brittany, the Machines de l’île, the Memorial to the abolition of slavery, the HAB Gallery or the Estuary Collection, as well as the creation of a summer event also called Le Voyage à Nantes.

In April 2014, he was named president of the Mission Nationale d’Art et de Culture dans l’Espace Public (MNACEP), after his nomination by Culture Minister Aurélie Filippetti Since 2014, he has also been in charge of the 500th anniversary celebrations of the Havre harbour, a major event that opened in May 2017.